Skrein, who is white, said he had initially accepted the role "unaware that the character in the original comics was of mixed Asian heritage," but once he discovered that, he "decided to step down."

"It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voice in the Arts," the actor wrote in a letter posted to his Twitter account. "I feel it is important to honour and respect that.”

"There is no way this decision came lightly on your part, so thank you for your bravery and genuinely impactful step forward," she wrote. "I hope this inspires other actors/film makers to do the same."

But after an Instagram user noted the actress had changed her last name from Wang to Bennet, she addressed Hollywood's discrimination issue in the debate over so-called "white-washing" of TV and film roles.

Bennet replied to the since-deleted comment, saying she changed her name because “Hollywood is racist and wouldn’t cast me with a last name that made them uncomfortable.”